


The Fabric

by DodgerBear



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 07:04:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17997161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DodgerBear/pseuds/DodgerBear
Summary: All the times Mickey became part of the fabric of the Gallagher family.





	The Fabric

 

 

If you asked, Mickey Milkovich would never be able to pinpoint when he was accepted into the extended Gallagher family. There had never been a baptism or even a welcome party. Nothing to signify that Mickey was family with a capital F. 

It happened by stealth at various times for various people. A moment that just faded into the backdrop of life but if a keen eye had been watching they would’ve been able to point out that hey, you _expected_ Mickey to be there and there he fucking was. 

 

Fiona

 

For Fiona it started with a glimpse of recognition when she visited Ian at the hospital with Mickey. When he had handed over his ID and said without hesitation that he was Ian’s boyfriend, Fiona couldn’t hide her smile. She was happy he could finally accept who and what he was and Mickey didn’t miss the surprised grin on her face. It wasn’t until a few years later, after more trials and tribulations, that Mickey had cemented his position in her family unit. The most recent tenant to move into her building had been there for three months and hadn’t paid a cent. He owed her nearly three grand and was a master of staying under the radar. It was over breakfast at the diner with Ian, Mickey, Liam and little Yev that she let on how close to breaking point she had reached. 

“Need some help?” Mickey asked, not looking at Fiona but instead cutting up the pancakes on Yev’s plate. 

“What do you mean?” Fiona frowned. 

“Debt collecting is kinda my thing.” Mickey met her gaze with a grin. 

“You’d do that?”

“Sure. I’ll come by after I drop the tadpole off at Svetlana’s.” Mickey agreed. 

Ian reached out to quickly grab the syrup bottle out of Yev’s tiny hand and poured a little out on his plate. “Do not get arrested. Our squirrel fund won’t stretch to bail this week.”

Mickey rolled his navy blue eyes. “Does anyone _set_ _out_ to get arrested?”

“Uh yes. You did. When you punched that cop.” Ian retorted. 

Yev’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Daddy! You punched a cop?”

Mickey shot Ian a glare before turning to his son. “Yes. A long, long time ago when I was a dumb kid. I went to jail so it was a really stupid thing to do.”

Yev nodded, wise beyond his six years. “That really is stupid.”

Fiona raised her eyebrows at the men. “I’m not gonna ask because I’m pretty sure I don’t wanna know.”

 

Mickey knocked on the door firmly and put on his most authoritative voice. 

“Hey, this is Milkovich Gas Services. We’ve had a report of a gas leak in the street. Can I check your mains supply?”

A minute later the door opened a crack and it was enough for Mickey to wedge his boot in and use his shoulder to shove his way into the hallway of the apartment. 

“What the fuck?” The occupant yelped when he pushed up against the wall. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m your rent collector, bitch. Time to pay up. This ain’t a homeless shelter.” Mickey snapped and yanked on the guy’s greasy brown dreadlocks. 

“You can’t do this! I have rights!”

Mickey growled and dragged the man into the bathroom by his shitty hippy hair. He was taller but weighed about half what Mickey did. With a swift knee in the balls the unfortunate recipient of Mickey’s anger was on all fours in front of the toilet. 

“You see, that’s where you’re wrong White Bob Marley. You got bills. And those bills need to be paid. So I’m gonna need you to put on your big boy pants and settle up with your landlord. Today.” Mickey punctuated his speech with jerky shoves to the back of the man’s head until he was nearly in the water. 

“I don’t have that kinda money!” He shrieked. 

Mickey’s hand shot out and hit the handle. Water gushed into the bowl and into the face of Mickey’s victim. 

“I don’t believe you. I think you’re just a scummy fuck who tries to cheat people outta what they’re owed.”

After a long and painful minute he yanked the hair back so the guy resurfaced, gasping for breath. 

“You’re crazy! You’re a fuckin lunatic!”

“Nah man. This shit has worked for me since middle school. No way are you breaking my streak. So we’re just gonna hang here until you either pay up or the cistern refills and we can give this monstrosity on your head another long overdue wash.”

Mickey was reaching for the handle again when the guy blurted out his agreement. 

“Fine! Okay! I’ll sort it out today.”

Mickey pulled him by the hair to his feet and shoved him so he fell back into the tub. 

“You got until it gets dark tonight to square up and pay up for next month in advance. If you don’t, we gotta bigger problem than you’ll know how to deal with.”

 

Fiona was in her apartment at seven that evening when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to find the tenant from 2A looking very distressed. 

“I got your money.” He blurted out and handed over a wedge of cash. “You can call off your dog now.”

“My dog?” Fiona raised her eyebrows in challenge. “That’s my _brother_ , you dumb fuck. And he’s gonna be knockin on your door every time you’re more than thirty seconds late with your rent. Don’t like it? You can get the fuck out.”

She slammed the door in his face and returned to her living room, where Ian and Mickey were crowded together on her tiny sofa, trying to decide which pizza to order. 

“There you go Mick.” She handed over fifty bucks. 

“What’s this?”

“Finders fee.” She winked. 

Mickey laughed and shook his head. “Nah man, you don’t gotta pay me.”

“Take it. Please.”

“Fi, no. I’m not taking your money. You don’t get paid to help out your own.” Mickey argued gently and tossed the money on the table in front of him. 

Fiona was about to argue but Ian caught her eye and shook his head once, firmly enough to make her drop it. 

“Fine. But pizza is on me.” 

 

Debbie

With Debbie the transition wasn’t anything dramatic. She knew Mickey was Ian’s boyfriend from a young age, almost as soon as she knew Ian was gay. She also knew that it wasn’t a good idea to go around telling anyone that Mickey was sleeping in Ian’s bed while Terry was in prison. She knew the ghetto rules and she stuck to them but that didn’t stop her growing to like the grumpy, irritable man that sat at her breakfast table every morning. 

“Where were you last night?” Fiona barked at her sister when they were all crowded around the table trying to grab the food before it disappeared. 

“Out.” Debbie replied bluntly. 

“I need details.”

“No you don’t.”

“Debs, you’re fifteen. You have school. There’s no way you’re staying out at night...”

“Give me a break Fi. You didn’t crawl all over Lip or Ian’s ass when they stayed out late.”

Mickey shuffled down in his seat. If he wanted an awkward family breakfast he could easily have stayed at home.

Fiona was about to do a Fiona but realized the time and quickly ushered Liam out of the house. That left Mickey at the table with Ian, Lip, Carl and Debbie. The others shuffled their seats to have more elbow room after Liam made a space but Ian stayed right where he was, pressed along Mickey’s left side and sharing body warmth.  

“You doing okay Debs?” Ian asked gently. 

The younger redhead glared at the older redhead until she saw his face was open and kind and completely non-judgemental. She softened and let out a breath. 

“I was out with friends. And a guy.”

Ian just nodded simply. “Right.”

“A guy?” Lip repeated. 

Mickey concentrated on refilling the cups in front of him and Ian with coffee from the pot while Lip played the part of Concerned Older Brother. He’d had enough experience with Mandy over the years to last a lifetime and she was a million times worse than Ian’s younger sister. Debbie was actually alright. A little loud. A lot naive. But switched on and so like Ian it sometimes threw Mickey for a loop. He let the voices drone on in the background while he remained hyper-aware of Ian’s hand on his thigh under the table. 

“We’ll be here.” Ian’s voice was firm. 

Mickey belatedly realized Ian had done that thing where he signed him up for something while he wasn’t listening. It was such a _boyfriend_ thing to do. 

“What’s that now?”

Ian just grinned and swiped the last piece of toast from Mickey’s plate. 

 

Mickey figured out what he was signed up to later that night when he was hanging around in the Gallagher living room with Ian and Carl. When Lip appeared not long after and Debbie came into the house very soon after that with a nervous looking guy he figured it out. He was part of the Intimidation Squad. 

“Guys, this is Joe.” Debbie pointed to the kid. He was probably about seventeen, maybe eighteen at a push, with trendy glossy brown hair that flopped over his forehead and into his eyes. 

“Joe, these knuckleheads are my brothers. Carl, Lip, Mickey and Ian.”

Joe nodded and gave a half-hearted wave. 

“Hey Joe.” Ian, always the Good Cop, greeted warmly. “You got anything planned for your night?”

Joe made the mistake of immediately relaxing at Ian’s tone and spoke about how he was taking Debbie to the arcade. It was a mistake because Ian had a role that he stuck to, knowing that there would always be a sibling or Mickey by his side ready to slip into the role of Bad Cop. They didn’t plan in advance, they just knew the script and learned their lines years ago. 

“That right? Arcade, huh?” Mickey swiped his nose with his thumb. 

“Um...yeah?” Joe nodded slowly. 

Debbie knew then that Mickey could smell the blood in the water. “Come on Joe...”

“Hold up Girl-Red. This joker wants to take you to the arcade and you’re okay with that?” Mickey frowned. “I mean...is it his first date? You know guys take girls to the arcade when they’re twelve and wanna prove to their boys that they’ve actually got a girl right?”

“What do you know about dating girls Mickey?” Debbie shot back heatedly. 

“More than this guy, which is pretty fuckin worrying for you Princess.” Mickey retorted. 

Lip took up the mantle and asked Joe about himself. Joe shyly admitted he had finished school and was working part time at Home Depot. 

“Nice job, Debs. You finally found a guy with a job more boring than mine!” Lip teased and made Joe blush furiously. 

Carl took advantage of the silence. “You ever killed anything Joe?”

Joe felt his mouth swing open. “Uh what?”

“Have. You. Ever. Killed. Anything.” Carl spelled out slowly. 

“Carl shut the fuck up!” Debbie shrieked. 

“I uh...ran over a cat once. But it wasn’t my fault! It ran out in front of me!” 

Mickey leaned over Ian to grab the remote control. Ian couldn’t resist slipping his hand under Mickey’s shirt where it lifted up at the back. 

“Get your cold hands off me, Fuckhead.” Mickey growled and wriggled away from Ian. 

The redhead flashed a grin and pulled Mickey into a soft, lingering kiss. Joe’s eyes bugged out of his head and he looked around in shock, feeling more weirded out when nobody seemed to find it strange. 

Debbie grabbed Joe by the hand. “Okay we’re going now. Don’t wait up.”

“Okay,” Mickey snorted. “Arcade closes at 9.”

Debbie flipped him off before dragging Joe to the front door. The guys heard him lower his voice and ask incredulously “your brothers were making out?”

Debbie just scoffed. “If you think that’s the weirdest thing about my family your head is gonna explode.”

 

Liam

 

Liam didn’t remember a time when Mickey wasn’t around. Well, sometimes he wasn’t around for a while but it usually coincided with Ian being away for a while. But as far as Liam was concerned he was just part of the fixtures and fittings in the Gallagher household. So when he was nearly seven years old and still having bad dreams every night it seemed obvious that he would seek comfort from the closest member of the family. That happened to be Mickey, since he slept in the bed nearest to Liam’s and was a light sleeper. Ian would sleep through the end of the world while Mickey jerked awake at the sound of a floorboard creaking in a house three doors down the street. 

“Mickey?” Liam whispered into the darkness of the room. 

“Hmm? What? Liam?” He stirred awake. 

Liam sniffed snottily. “I had a bad dream.”

Mickey sat up in the bed and checked Ian was still asleep. Of course he fuckin was. 

“Come on. Let’s get a drink.”

Liam followed him down to the kitchen and sat at the table while Mickey warmed some milk in a pan, mixing in a spoonful of sugar. He placed the cup down in front of Liam and immediately slapped the back of the kid’s hand when he reached for it straight away. 

“Give it a minute to cool down. That shit’s hot.” He warned. 

Liam’s huge brown eyes regarded him carefully as he sat down opposite him. 

“So, what’s goin on kiddo?”

Liam played with the edge of a placemat with his fingernail. “I dream about monsters.”

“Kind of monsters?”

Liam didn’t expect Mickey to take him seriously. Fiona hadn’t. Debbie hadn’t. Carl certainly hadn’t. They all either teased him (Carl), brushed him aside (Debbie) or just placated him with assurances that monsters weren’t real (Fiona). None of them helped because the monsters _were_ real. 

“They look like my Mom.”

Mickey felt the ache in his stomach hit him like he’d been punched. His dreams as a kid were filled with monsters. Terry-shaped monsters. 

“Oh? What do they do?” Mickey swallowed his own sad memories to focus on the kid. 

“Try to take me away. Put me in a car with none of my toys or my clothes and make me leave my family.” Liam whispered. 

Mickey picked up his cup and signalled for Liam to do the same. They each took a sip and Liam smiled when the warm liquid filled his mouth. It was delicious. 

“I’ve never had hot milk before.” He admitted softly. 

Mickey cracked a smile. “It’s what makes kids feel better until they try beer.”

Liam shook his head. “I don’t like beer. Tastes awful. I don’t like cocaine either.”

Mickey’s eyes went wide. “No. Me neither.”

“I don’t want to leave my family. I would miss you all.” Liam added with his face in the cup. Mickey exhaled the breath he had stuck in his throat. “We would miss you too. But you know it’s just in your dreams right? Nobody is gonna take you away.”

“How can you be so sure? It feels so real.”

“I know kiddo. Trust me I know. But it’s not real. And if anyone did try to take you away I would knock them on their asses.”

Liam grinned. “You would?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t ever let anything bad happen to you. Neither would Ian. Or Carl. Or Lip. That’s what brothers do.” Mickey explained. He wondered where his brothers were right then. Did they miss him being around? Did they side with Terry about Mickey’s...lifestyle? He wasn’t sure his own brothers would stand up for him but he had Ian and he was pretty sure his ginger would fight to the death for him. 

“I’m glad I’ve got lots of brothers to look out for me.” Liam drained the sweet milk from the cup and set it back down on the table. “Thanks Mickey.”

“Anytime kiddo. You ready to get some sleep?”

Liam nodded and jumped up on Mickey’s back when he crouched down for him. Liam flicked off the light as they passed and Mickey carried the youngster until he was dropped on his bed and quickly tucked in. 

“Night kid.”

Mickey crawled into bed beside Ian and curled into his warm body to get some heat. 

“Night Mickey. Love you.” Liam whispered into the darkness. 

 

Carl

 

Carl was in deep fucking shit. He wanted out. He’d been through the courtroom drama, he’d gone to juvie and done his time. Now he wanted out before he saw anyone else get hurt. The gang he was caught up in wanted their fee to let him go and it was more than he’d ever be able to afford. They threatened his life but that just whatever to Carl. But then they started tailing Debbie school and Fiona to work and he knew he needed help. He knew Ian could shoot a pea-sized target from a mile away but he wasn’t sure he’d pop a clip in a guy just to get Carl out of the gang he was in deep with. The gang was his choice. When he thought he was The Big Man, throwing paper money around like he was fuckin Tupac or some shit. Now it was his death sentence and a death sentence to his family. He thought about bailing and leaving his family behind in the hope that the bangers would give up on him if he was gone. But he knew it didn’t work that way. Out of sight wasn’t out of mind when you were in deep to the tune of ten grand. They’d come for his siblings and leave nothing behind. 

 

Mickey waited up for Ian coming in from work almost every night. That night Ian got back a little early and they were taking advantage of the quiet house in the middle of the night by laying on the sofa and lazily making out. 

“Uh...Mickey?” A voice coughed and startled the boys out of their embrace. 

“The fuck?” Mickey hissed. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just need some advice.”

“Like right now?”

“It can...uh...wait until you’re done...” Carl stuttered. 

Ian burst into laughter and sat up, bringing Mickey with him. “Ignore him, he hasn’t gotten laid in a while and he’s grumpy.”

“Jesus fuck Gallagher!” Mickey protested. 

“Well it’s true. Our shifts have been outta whack this past week.”

Carl coughed again. “I wouldn’t ask but it’s important.”

“Come sit kid. Tell Uncle Mickey all about it.” The older man muttered. 

Carl sat down on the arm of the chair. “I kinda think of you as more of a brother than an uncle.”

“Well I mostly think of you as a pain in my ass.” Mickey retorted, while secretly feeling pretty fuckin awesome about Carl’s words. 

Carl explained his situation and Ian was about to blow a gasket. 

“How could you be so fuckin stupid Carl?”

Mickey shut him up with a firm clip on the arm. “You forgetting the dumb shit you did when you were his age?”

“I didn’t do anything that woulda got me killed!” Ian snapped. 

“Yes you fuckin did! You screwed around with me. What, you think Terry woulda settled for a stern telling off? You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think he woulda killed you right in front of me.”

Carl watched the scene play out with morbid fascination. Nobody really knew how long Ian and Mickey had been a thing but it was pretty obvious it was a long ass time. Ian’s chastened silence was enough of a reply for Mickey before he turned to Carl. 

“Okay. Give me names and places.”

The three of them stayed up until dawn planning, arguing, organizing and shooting the shit. Carl fell asleep hanging over the arm of the chair while Ian and Mickey slept in a bizarre assortment of limbs. When the sun came up Mickey had slipped out of the house and left the Gallaghers to eat breakfast in worried silence. 

“I swear to God, if anything happens to him...” Ian muttered as he anxiously sipped his coffee. 

 

Mickey returned to the Gallagher house just before midnight without a scratch on him. Ian and Carl hustled him into the empty kitchen to get the low down on his day. 

“Well?” Carl burst out when it was clear Mickey was more interested in getting a beer out of the fridge. 

“You’re in the clear. They won’t be bothering you again.” He gulped down some beer and let out a loud belch. 

“Are you serious?” Carl’s mouth was agape. 

Mickey gave an exaggerated nod like Carl was slow. “Yes.”

Ian let out a huge sigh of relief. “How the fuck did you make that happen?”

“Had a sit down with their top guy. We met years back in juvie. Turns out I know some stuff about him that would make his life pretty fuckin difficult if anyone found out...”

Ian closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “Please don’t tell me you fucked him...”

Carl screwed up his face. “Oh.”

Mickey scoffed and shook his head. “I didn’t. But I know at least three people who did so I just reminded him that if he wanted to mess with my brother I could easily mess with him.”

“And he accepted that?” Ian gasped. 

Mickey shrugged and reached for another beer. “I can be very persuasive. Besides, his main meth and coke supplier is Iggy. I also reminded him that his deal could change if he didn’t leave Carl and the rest of the family alone. He was convinced.”

Carl couldn’t help himself as he pitched forward and grabbed Mickey in a tight hug. 

“Ay careful kid.” He held the bottle of beer up before it was knocked out of his hands. 

“Thank you.” Carl choked on his words. 

Mickey patted him gently on the back. “It’s fine. Just stay outta the game.”

“I will.” Carl promised and left Ian and Mickey alone in the kitchen. 

“You really put your ass on the line for him.” Ian backed his boyfriend up against the counter and gripped him by the hips to hold him in place. 

“Yeah well...not everyone thinks I’m just 130 pounds of Ukrainian pussy.” Mickey replied bitterly. 

Ian bent to press his face in the crook of Mickey’s neck, sucking gently on the skin. It was Mickey’s spot and it drove him wild. 

“I’m gonna have to find a way to thank you.”

Mickey daringly reached out to cup Ian’s hardening dick. “Hmm. Well that’s a start.”

 

Lip

 

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Lip took a lot longer to come around to the idea that Mickey wasn’t going anywhere. He had more to see past, like the times he saw Ian looking and feeling like shit when he first started up with Mickey. Lip would always stand by his hesitation to just see the best in Mickey like the rest of the Gallaghers seemed to do and refused to admit it was stubbornness. Ian was his brother. His Irish twin. Nobody would ever be good enough. Except by the time Ian and Mickey had been together, on and off, for nearly fifteen years and decided to get married, for the benefits _obviously_ , Lip had to concede that Mickey might actually be the best person for Ian. 

“Uncle Lip?” Yev bit his lip and looked like someone shrunk Mickey to fit into Yev’s clothes. 

Lip turned away from the dishes in the sink to face the youngster, who was climbing onto a stool at the counter. “What’s up little man?”

“You know how I’m gonna be Dad’s best man?”

Lip nodded. “Sure.”

“Will you help me with my speech? I’m scared about speaking to all the people.” Yev admitted. 

Lip flashed a reassuring smile. The concept of a Milkovich asking for help was very new and Lip could already see how differently Yev was being raised to how Mickey and Mandy were dragged up. 

“Of course I will.”

“You know stuff about my Dad I could talk about?”

“I definitely know stuff about your Dad. Not sure we can talk about it though.” Lip chuckled but Yev just frowned in confusion. 

“Never mind, we’ll figure it out.”

“Thanks Uncle Lip. You’re the best!”

 

The wedding was kept simple and personal, a quick trip to City Hall and then back to the Alibi for an all-you-can-drink buffet. When  Frank tried to get in for the fifth time Kev locked the door and everyone inside cheered. Yev was eager to get his speech done and over with so Kev called for everyone’s attention. 

“I am not drunk enough for this.” Mickey muttered into Ian’s shoulder. 

The redhead laughed and slipped his arm around his new husband’s waist. They watched as Lip grabbed Yev and placed him so he stood on a stool beside him. 

“Hey.” Lip started. “Thanks everyone for coming today. My nephew Yev and I are gonna do a joint speech since we’re already family. These guys have been ghetto married for so long I’m surprised the government didn’t just send out the paperwork without the wedding. But I’m glad you guys have had your day. Ian looks a lot happier at your second wedding than he did at your first, Mick.” Lip smirked and received a middle finger from Mickey in reply. 

“Dad. That’s not nice.” Yev rolled his eyes and everyone laughed. “Pops, you look like James Bond in your suit. Dad, you look like a penguin.”

Mickey huffed loudly over the sound of laughter in the room. “This pick on Mickey day or what?”

“But I love penguins so that’s kinda cool. And I love both of you very much. I’m happy you finally got married.”

Ian held Mickey close as Yev chattered on about the things he loved about his parents. Lip cut in every now and then with a sarcastic anecdote and they were quite the comedy duo. The whole room squealed with laughter. Mickey glanced up at Ian and they shared a sweet smile. 

Lip finally closed the speech with the raising of his plastic champagne flute and an arm around Yev who was holding his flute of apple juice. 

“Raise your glasses folks, a toast to a long and happy marriage. I’d say welcome to the family Mickey but we all know you’ve been one of us forever. To Ian and Mickey.”

“IAN AND MICKEY!” The room chorused. 

Ian smiled and pressed his lips to Mickey’s briefly. Yev came running over and Ian scooped him up, Lip close behind him. 

“How did I do?” Yev gasped. 

Mickey held out his fist for Yev to bump. “You did awesome, tadpole.”

Ian ruffled his hair. “Amazing job.”

“Thanks for helping me Uncle Lip.”

“You’re welcome. You ready to hit the dance floor and show me your moves Yev?”

The youngster nodded and leapt to the floor. “Have fun!” Ian called and looked to Mickey. 

“Dance?”

“Absolutely fucking not. Let’s go make out in the bathroom.” Mickey walked away from him and, like always, Ian followed. 

 

Ian

 

Ian loved Mickey from the moment their grappling turned into fucking. Okay, _loved_ might be a strong word but he was definitely hooked on the angry, tattooed thug. It took Mickey slightly longer to catch up and even longer after that to admit it. Coming out to a barroom full of people because he was scared of losing Ian, again, was the moment he made it clear that he loved the lanky ginger fuck. He knew Ian felt the same and they stuck it out through drama and rough times. Mickey understood Ian showed his emotions differently to him. The difference being he actually _showed_ them. But it was the little practical things that made him see that Ian wanted him around for a long time. Like the tattoo he got of Mickey’s date of birth on his wrist. Or the co-signed lease on their apartment. Or the fact Ian introduced Mickey to his friends at work as his ghetto husband in his mischievous way. It really became apparent when Mickey’s cellphone rang in the middle of the night when Ian was at work. 

“Is that Mickey?” A clipped voice demanded. 

“Yeah. Who the fuck’s this?” He groaned sleepily. 

“My name is Linda and I work at Mercy General. I need you to come down here.”

Mickey cut her off with a snap. “What the fuck is goin on?”

“We have Ian Gallagher here. There was an incident while he was on a call out and he has suspected concussion. We need you to come down and pick him up. He can’t be alone for the next 24 hours.” Linda explained patiently. 

“Jesus. Is he okay? What happened?” Mickey was now up and out of bed. 

“He’s awake and responsive. He was hit in the head with a bat.”

“The fuck?”

“He can explain when you get here.”

Mickey exhaled the breath that was burning in his chest. “Alright. His sister there yet? Looks like a meth addict but she’s just always really fuckin tired...name’s Fiona.”

Linda coughed. “No.”

“She on her way?”

“No. I’ve only called you.” Linda was confused. 

“What? Why?”

“You’re on Mr Gallagher’s file as his emergency contact.” Linda explained. 

Mickey was stunned. “I am?”

“Yes. You are Mikhailo Milkovich, preferred name Mickey, correct?” Linda was growing more confused. 

“Yeah. That’s me.”

“Then yes, you are listed as his emergency contact and your relationship to the patient is co-habiting partner.”

Mickey fell silent. He didn’t realize Ian had put him above Fiona and Lip in the list of people to call when shit went down. 

“I’ll be there in twenty.” Mickey hung up and broke every traffic law in the state to get to his lanky ginger fuck. 

 

“Hey Mick.” Ian smiled tiredly when Mickey arrived at his bedside. 

“What the fuck happened? The chick on the phone said you got hit with a bat?”

Ian sighed heavily. “Yeah. We were called out to a domestic and I was looking after a guy with a broken nose when this lady came outta nowhere with a bat. She was goin for the guy but I was in her way...”

Mickey slumped into the chair beside Ian’s bed and reached for his hand tentatively. Public displays still weren’t his forte. “You doing okay?”

“Better now you’re here.” Ian grinned sleepily. 

“You want me to call Fi? Or Lip?”

“No. I just want you.”

“Okay tough guy. You got me.”

Ian smiled at his boyfriend’s words but it froze on his face a second later. 

“Mick?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna puke.” 

It was close call but Mickey managed to grab the cardboard tray and hold it out for Ian to throw up in, tenderly patting his back until he was done. 

“I’m so sorry.” Ian groaned. 

Mickey rang the call button for the nurse and leaned down to press a kiss to Ian’s forehead. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I love you Mick.”

Mickey replied just as the door opened and the nurse walked in. “I love you too Red.”

 

 

 

 


End file.
